Labour retains Keir Starmer’s seat in London byelection
Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, retaining the seat formerly held by Keir Starmer. Despite a significant swing toward the Green Party, Labour maintained control in a contest marked by lower voter turnout.
Why it matters
Reflects the current political climate in the UK and the challenges the Labour government faces in retaining support from left-leaning voters.
Labour has held on to Keir Starmer’s old seat in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, seeing off a challenge from Green Party leader Zack Polanski and thwarting his attempt to become an MP.
Labour’s candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won 12,292 votes in the north London seat, beating Polanski who received 8,928. Turnout was 39 per cent, well below the 54 per cent of constituents who voted at the 2024 general election.
Abdi-Wali, a Somalia-born refugee and leader of Camden council, will enter Westminster when parliament returns from recess on Monday.
The result will be hailed by Labour as a boost for prime minister Andy Burnham and evidence that the party can win back voters on the left who have been drifting to the Greens.
Also covering this story
4 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
How Polanski has tried to sell himself in Holborn and St Pancras
Holborn and St Pancras by-election under way as polls open
Polls close in Holborn and St Pancras byelection as Labour hopes to retain seat
Holborn and St Pancras by-election gets under way
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